Such remote sensor networks are well known and used in a variety of different applications—e.g. for reporting temperature, pressure etc. They offer a way of obtaining data from a large number of different places which can then be centrally recorded, analysed and used in control systems.
In many applications the purpose of remote sensor networks is to collect data for medium or long term monitoring and performance analysis and thus relatively low update rates may be acceptable. However there are some applications where timing is critical to safety. For example in a network of gas sensors for detecting abnormally high levels of a dangerous gas, it may be critical that any such elevated levels are reported as quickly as possible. This can be achieved by using a high update rate but this comes at the cost of a significant increase in power consumption and therefore consequent reduction in battery life or increase in cost and weight.